First Knife Sheath

[Grey Drakkon]

FINALLY got this present finished, but I messed it up so much that I told my guy that I'll make him a better one based off the same pattern and color. (turns out he wants a stag and owl on it anyway) I probably went about making this thing ass-backwards, but in the end it turned out alright. In any case, it holds the knife tight and looks a hell of a lot more harmonious with it than the cheapo nylon sheath that came with it.

I underestimated how close I had made the knotwork to the edge, and just how much tooling it would expand the leather so I ended up stitching over the very tip of the knotwork at the bottom. I'm not so pleased with how the tooling itself came out, either, but I'm still progressing with it.

[kiwican]

Looks good Grey, love the colour and how the sheath and knife flow

[Halitech]

Looks good other then what you pointed out. I usually go with the rule of thumb of leaving 1/4" from the edge where I don't tool. That leaves me room to sew it without going into the tooling and if I need to sand the edges to get the parts to match.

[Wicked Welts]

Maybe it's too much for some but I also like how you carried the color and artwork over to the sheath.

I've struggled with the edge spacing too. If it wasn't stitches it was rivets or whatever that ran out of room because I was always focused on cramming as much pattern space in there as possible, plus some. Now I force myself to go waaay wide during the early edge layout. It looks weird at first but things are starting to look much better.

[Kulafarmer]

Nice,,, dont be too hard on your self,

Its got character!

In olden times none would criticize

Curious about the knife, looks like a nice piece

[x101airborne]

There is an intentionally mis-tied knot in every Persian rug. Flaws give character. At least that is what I tell myself when I critique one of my projects.

[Halitech]

having an "opps" in every project makes it unique so they don't all look like they rolled off an assembly line where they are stamped and cut in 1 step. Obviously some opps shouldn't be included but the main thing is, does the customer like it? If they do, take where you made the mistake, learn from it and do better on the next one.

[Grey Drakkon]

Looks good Grey, love the colour and how the sheath and knife flow

Thanks, Kiwi! That was honestly the biggest factor for me, the shape of the sheath flowing with the shape of the knife. I was a bit worried about how it would balance when on a belt, but it actually holds itself well, and naturally tilts forward. That might be an issue if the sheath was holding the knife loosely, but it's so tight right now that I need two hands to pull it out!

Looks good other then what you pointed out. I usually go with the rule of thumb of leaving 1/4" from the edge where I don't tool. That leaves me room to sew it without going into the tooling and if I need to sand the edges to get the parts to match.

Thanks for the tip! I cleaned off a LOT of the edges (actually shaved them down with a razor blade) the stitching looked a lot more uneven before I did that, as well as the sides jutting out from each other.

Maybe it's too much for some but I also like how you carried the color and artwork over to the sheath.

I've struggled with the edge spacing too. If it wasn't stitches it was rivets or whatever that ran out of room because I was always focused on cramming as much pattern space in there as possible, plus some. Now I force myself to go waaay wide during the early edge layout. It looks weird at first but things are starting to look much better.

I definitely fell into the trap of "but it looks so neat, I HAVE to put more in!" Next one I'll know better. Hopefully.

Nice,,, dont be too hard on your self,

Its got character!

In olden times none would criticize

Curious about the knife, looks like a nice piece

Thanks for the kind words. I didn't even mention that I somehow managed to prick the wrong number of holes in the top layer so I ended up skipping holes. I'd be less bothered if the stitching wasn't dangerously close to the edges in places, makes it more an issue of "will this end up ripping?" vs. aesthetics.

There is an intentionally mis-tied knot in every Persian rug. Flaws give character. At least that is what I tell myself when I critique one of my projects.

Hah! Well if we're our own worst critics, then anything thrown at us by other people sounds like praise.

having an "opps" in every project makes it unique so they don't all look like they rolled off an assembly line where they are stamped and cut in 1 step. Obviously some opps shouldn't be included but the main thing is, does the customer like it? If they do, take where you made the mistake, learn from it and do better on the next one.

Hmm, since I ended up being the customer for this one, I think I'd fire myself! ;D Good advice though, and I'm glad to have learned something while making this piece.